Loving Life!

I love Dubai. I do not know how many times have I said it, but i just love it. No doubt there are times when I do complain about it and the experienced ones would say, "International assignments are tough. Not many can withstand the trials that come with it."

So, with each complaint that I threw out, many people has helped me to resolve it, offering their own way of dealing with it and various recommendations on how it could have been done differently if they could do it all over again. From them, I learnt that I could evaluate their advice, apply it, ignore it or do it differently. The key is to do something about it, not just whine about it.

 

And my! Have I learnt much since I came to Dubai! I am so proud that I have come such a long way. It is not easy, but I survived anyway. I found out that humans are a tough lot. All of us have a strong will to live.  No matter what we go through , we will always manage to live through it all. For if God is with us, who can be against us? So fret not. God is here and He is on our side. I just can't stop talking about Him or praising Him .

Next, I learnt to be independent, assertive, discerning, smart, observant, and see with my heart and my mind. I learnt to take the time to listen to people for everybody has something to share, young or old; to be interested in people; Not to be too sad when friends or family disappoint me because we are merely humans.

 

Most of all, I found out that God is my home. Therefore wherever I am, there is my home and I will not fear for God is with me. So I tell myself, "I will remain in Him. I will trust in god and rely on him always and put my hope in him every second  for He is my provider."

Yet, life-it is a long continuous journey of learning. There is still much more for me to develop. Self control, for one. I know I am a little too emotional at times. I cry easily, laugh too freely, get a little irritated when things don't go my way. I know I should practice self-restraint, control my emotions. I shouldn't wear it on my sleeve. I shouldn't be so open and share with everyone what I think or even show my last card to others. But when I'm happy and perfectly comfortable and relaxed in a peculiarly curious sort of way, I begin to talk so freely and start babbling about my personal life, even with strangers. It's risky.  I should start thinking of neutral topics to strike conversations, not just about my life, as interesting as it may be. Tact for this area certainly has ample room for development.

Personally, I think I've taken a long and hard rocky road of self discovery. I think God must love me very much. He placed so many people who advised me to love and pamper myself and treat myself like a princess. They built up a safe, loving environment and a training ground for me to say no and what I truly mean to say without hurting myself or them. They taught me to stand up for myself and set boundaries. They taught me to think of my own interests instead of accommodating or obliging others all the time. They taught me that it isn't wrong to care for myself or protect my own niche. They taught me to see that if I can be self-reliant, others could too! Why allow others to step all over me or use me as a door mat when they could do it on their own? They taught me to create an environment to teach others to fend for themselves instead of getting into the habit of riding on others for a free ride. Time and time again, when I failed to get the message, God sent people in different shapes, tones and sizes to knock the message into my thick skull.

By now, I think I've learnt all there is to know in Dubai. It's time to put what I learnt into practise. To throw myself in the ocean and really start kicking and swimming. It is in Dubai, I stopped poring through endless stacks of books, theories and philosophies or dive through my work like a spirit possessed workaholic. It is here in Dubai that I began to learn what it truly means to live, to embrace life, to explore and experiment it with zest, passion and curiosity. It is here I discovered that life cannot be summarized in a word, much like Indian curry.

Suffice to say, I learnt loads here and I will use it, apply it, embed it into my nature and share it with others who will need it in future. May God grant me a strong and absorbent memory sponge and a strong spirit.